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Interview: Lloyd Ruby, Racing Legend

This versatile Texan spoke soft, drove hard, and is too often identified with a race he didn't win than with all those he did. It's time to set the record straight.

Matt StonewritersLionel Deluyphotographers

Born January 12, 1928, Ruby is too often remembered as one of the greatest drivers never to win at the Brickyard. He raced there every year from 1960 through 1977 and came close numerous times--always just a mechanical failure or minor mistake away from victory. With a little more good luck and a bit less bad, he coulda/woulda/shoulda won it three or four times. It matters little, as he's one of many in that regard. But there's so much more to his story.

During Ruby's nearly 20 years running USAC champ cars (late 1958 through mid-1977), he won seven races, finished on the podium 29 times, and captured eight poles. There were numerous road-racing and sprint-car race wins along the way. He drove stock cars, even Formula 1. Midget-car victories? Ruby himself stopped counting at 200. Ask guys like Andretti, Shelby, or Foyt, and they'll likely tell you Lloyd Ruby is a Southern gentleman who let his driving skills do the talking. He's a husband, father, and grandfather. His dry sense of humor and penchant for practical jokes are as legendary as his quiet-yet-fierce competitiveness.

Ruby did a stint with Shelby American during the heyday of the factory-backed Ford GT program and teamed with the late Ken Miles to win three major endurance car races: the three-hour Daytona Continental in 1965 and the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Daytona 24-hour race in 1966. We chatted with Lloyd Ruby about his life and career on the 40th anniversary of those sports-car victories.

Motor Trend Classic: Why racing?All during school, I was riding motor scooters, then motorcycles. Then I got to racing motorcycles. Some people built a track here in Wichita, and I knew the guy that ran it. They were out there playing around with midgets one Sunday afternoon and asked me if I'd like to take a ride in one. I got to running pretty good, so he asked me if I wanted to run it in the races the next weekend. That was awfully fun for me, just 18 years old at the time. I ended up running for him the rest of that year [1946]. By year's end, I had a little money saved up, and I thought, "This here's gonna beat the heck out of working," so I just continued racing.

MTC: How many midget races did you win?I really have no idea. In 1948, I started driving for Bob Nowicke out of Chicago, and I drove for him for about five years. He said we'd won right at 200 races during that time. Remember, we were running six and seven nights a week, and it didn't take a lot of time to add them up. After that, I lost track.

MTC: What were those days like? It was a lotta, lotta fun. For any driver looking to move up to stock cars or champ cars or sport cars, you learn the most lessons running a midget. You learn so much about what it takes to make a car handle. You sit down in it, you're part of it. Look at the drivers that have been successful in the bigger series, and so many of them came up driving midgets.

MTC: How did a bullring dirtslinger like you get into sports-car racing?I was driving midgets for Ebb Rose out of Houston. He was also running sport cars in the SCCA, and I was his mechanic. I got to drive one of his cars, just fooling around a little, warming them up and so forth. In 1959, USAC opened up a sport-car division, so Ebb let me run his cars in that series.

MTC: You raced a Maserati 450S. What was that like?It was a good sport car; big, fast. On a real tight course, it could give you some trouble. But on a long track, with all that horsepower, it worked real good. I had quite a bit of success with it and enjoyed running it. When cars like the Lotus 19 and the Maserati Birdcage came along, they made that old 4.5-liter Maser obsolete.

MTC: How did you like the Birdcage?It was good for about one year. It was light and handled well, but the Lotus 19 was even lighter and smaller. It took over the scene right quick.

MTC: Formula 1?Yes, I did one F1 race at Watkins Glen in 1961, also in a Lotus. It was something different, but to me, it wasn't much different from running another sport car race. We ran good for a while, but we didn't finish too good. But at least we were there.

MTC: How did you get involved in the GT40 program?While I was driving sport cars for Rose, Carroll Shelby was also running his team. Shelby and I knew each other well, both being Texans and all. We ran against each other before he retired. When Ford turned over the Ford GT program to Shelby in 1964 [for the 1965 season], they needed another driver to team up with Ken Miles. Carroll called me, and I was down there the next day. A lot of people wondered how Miles and I would get along. He was a high-strung Englishman and just couldn't sit still. Always had to be doing something. If they didn't watch me, I'd either be playing gin or asleep somewhere. But Ken and I liked our cars set up the same way and made a good combination. We became very good friends and enjoyed running with each other. He was a real nice fella, Ken was. It was really hard for me when he got killed at Riverside.

MTC: How did you like the Ford GT?A really good car. I enjoyed running them a bunch. Ford gave Shelby American three cars to run and gave another three to Holman and Moody. Carroll had a good crew to work with. They made it easy. If there was an issue between Ken and me and the crew, we could always work it out real quick.

MTC: You've been labeled a cool head in the cockpit. Is that why you did so well in the endurance races?During the long races, you had to pace yourself and be good to the car. If a driver was too tough on it, most often, they just didn't finish. Ken and I were both easy on the race cars; most of the time, all we had to do was put tires, oil, and fuel in them.

MTC: Why did you stop racing sports cars?Ford got involved to win Sebring, Daytona, and Le Mans. By the end of 1967, they'd done all that. So they quit racing sport cars. I was going pretty strong in USAC champ cars about then, so I just concentrated on the open-wheel series. No other reason; I had a great time in the Ford program.

MTC: Who were your heroes?Among all the drivers that were big before our group came up through the ranks, you have to look to Tony Bettenhausen. He helped me get my first ride at Indy in 1960 with J.C. Agajanian. Tony was a great driver and a big help to me. Johnny Parsons was a good racer, too, and he and I got to be friends. Billy Vukovich was a top driver of the day; I got to run against him a few times.

MTC: I hear you're a bit of a prankster. Care to share any stories?There were three of us that used to love to play around with M80s [a firecracker equal to about one-fifth of a stick of dynamite]. Jimmy Bryan, Bill Cheesbourg, and me; any time you'd see us, we'd always have M80s on hand. One time, we were out at a tavern for a birthday party for someone that worked at Autolite, and everybody was sitting around this long table. They brought out this big birthday cake. I lit up an M80 and stuck it right in the middle of this cake. I looked around, and I mean everybody was long gone. They really scattered. The only thing they didn't know is that I had taken all the powder out of that M80. So the fuse burned, but it wouldn't explode. It was all kinda' fun watching everybody run and hide under the tables.

MTC: You had several brushes with victory at the Indy 500. One of the toughest had to be 1969, when a pitstop miscue ripped the side of your fuel tank out, ending your day while you were leading the race. What happened?When you're not running well, or have a mechanical problem, you don't so much mind going out. But this one hurt more than any of them. We could make pitstops all day long, and something like this would never happen again. There are two fuel tanks on the left side that needed to be filled. When Junior, the right front tire changer closed the rear tank's vent cap, which was right in front of the windshield, that was my signal that the tanks were full, and to go. Dave, my chief mechanic, was filling the front tank, and when he finished, he pulled his hose. I could see that, and it looked like Junior was just about ready to close the cap. I must have over-anticipated that, let the clutch out a little bit, and the car rolled up about three feet. But neither of us could see that the hose for the rear tank was still attached. The mechanic who was filling that tank had trouble getting the hose disconnected. When the car moved, it tore out the side of the tank. The pit was just flooded with gas. When they told me to get out of the car, I couldn't believe it. Just one of those things.

MTC: Enough about your most crushing loss. How about some highlights?One of the best experiences was just getting to run at the Speedway in 1960. It's what every driver was looking for back then, to run in the Indianapolis 500. The first time I got out on the track, it was unbelievable. A guy from a little hick town in Texas up there running. It meant so much to me. I also have great memories of 1966, driving for Dan Gurney, as that was the first time I led the 500. I think we led 78 laps, and it looked like we had a sure win until a little bolt in the cam housing broke, and we started losing oil. Just another one of those things, but it was the greatest, being able to lead the biggest race in the whole world.

MTC: Even bigger than winning Daytona or Sebring?That was great, but my heart was at the Speedway. Although, having great success with Ken and Shelby and all them, and running against the greatest drivers in the world, well, that was pretty special, too.

MTC: What was it like going to France, Japan, and other countries as an American back then?It felt like being a stranger in a strange land. I remember in 1967, the first year Foyt and I went to France to run at Le Mans, we drank more wine and ate more bread than anything. The way they have the open markets there, with all the meat and everything just right out in the street, well, we couldn't quite go for that. We also raced in Japan--the food over there was all different, too. If you didn't like fish, you didn't get to eat. After a few days, you'd give $20 for a big old hamburger.

MTC: Other than the exponential increase in driver's salaries, what's the biggest difference between motorsport today and during your career?I think spectators are enjoying the races more. NASCAR has really made that happen. People can identify with the cars, because maybe they drive a Ford or a Chevrolet or a Dodge. Sponsors are a big help to racing now, too, and TV has really made a difference. Most of the races we run in the 1960s were never shown live. These are the reasons racing is so much further ahead now than it was 10 or 20 years ago.

MTC: How about women in racing?I think it will really happen. The way the cars are now, it doesn't take as much physical strength to drive one as it did in the 1950s and 1960s. So a woman can be every bit as competitive as a man now; the car doesn't know the difference any more. Danica [Patrick] has made a real good impression these last couple years, and I think you're going to continue to see more women entering the sport.

MTC: Any more war stories?One time, Bobby Unser put a firecracker in a salad. But this one was live. That salad went everywhere, but you had to know Bobby. He enjoyed pulling those cranks, even if it did a little damage. Whenever he turned in a rental car, I don't see how they ever rented it again to anyone else. We'd be going down the road at 35 or 40 miles an hour, and he'd just pull it into reverse, spinning the wheels backwards. A few times, the car didn't make it back. Something about transmission failure. One time, we checked into a motel, and he was blowing up M80s in the toilets, which didn't help the plumbing. Then he'd be playing with the fire extinguishers out in the hallways. Needless to stay, we didn't stay there the following year. I love being with Bobby. He's a good friend.

MTC: What did you do after you retired?I had invested in some oil fields with a friend. After I retired from racing, I continued in that. We must have drilled 75 or more wells. I had another friend who was in the steel business, and I worked with him for a while, too. But the last couple years, I've just backed off and enjoyed life.

MTC: Do you own any of your old race cars?No. I was very fortunate just to be a driver, and I was never a team owner. I never did want to own a car. I've been in a few of them where one minute they were in real good shape, and the next minute there was nothing left of them. I was happy to drive for someone else and not have to worry about anything.

MTC: Do you miss it?I always said that if I ever quit, I'd never go back again, and I kept my word. But the first year I didn't race at Indianapolis--1978--when I stood out there and watched the cars go through that first turn, it was the most awful feeling I ever had. If you'd have shot me with a pistol, I don't think it would've hurt any worse. It was that way for a couple years, but after a while, I got over it. Now, I enjoy going up there and just watching and fooling around. I've been up there every year since then, and I'll be back this year, too. It just gets into your blood, the 500, and I've got a lot of friends up there. It's like homecoming.

MTC: How would you like to be remembered?Just as old me. I enjoyed racing. I got to travel all over the world. It's been my whole life. I wouldn't trade my life for anybody's.

Visit Lloyd Ruby's old mechanic's shop in downtown Wichita Falls, Texas, and he's likely to hand you a book titled, "How To Drive and Win the Indy 500." His name is on it as the author. But every page is blank. It's a joke, son.